Home records binder: what to keep and how long

Why it's worth keeping

A good set of house records answers questions you will have later: when the water heater was installed, who fixed the roof, whether the dishwasher is still under warranty, what you paid for the kitchen. It also helps in two situations that tend to come at bad times: an insurance claim, and the year you sell. This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice.

What to keep for as long as you own the house

• Closing documentsThe purchase contract and the settlement statement (the closing disclosure) show what you paid and the costs of buying.
• Deed and title insurance policyThe recorded deed is usually also on file with the county, but keep your copy. The title policy matters if a claim against the title ever comes up.
• Survey and platUseful for fences, additions and any question about where the lot line is.
• Permits and final inspectionsFor any work that needed a permit, keep the permit and the sign-off. Buyers and their inspectors often ask.
• Your home inspection reportIt records the condition and often the age of the big systems when you bought.
• Receipts for improvementsAn addition, a new roof, new windows, central air. More on why below.

What to keep while you have the thing

• ManualsOne per appliance and system. Keep the model and serial number with each.
• Warranties and proof of purchaseA warranty is only useful with the receipt that shows the date. Note when each one ends.
• Service and repair recordsWho came, what they did, what it cost. They help the next technician and tell you how old a part is.
• Your current insurance policyKeep the latest declarations page and policy. Older ones can go once you're sure no claim from that period is open; ask your agent if unsure.

Improvements and the IRS

When you sell a home, the gain is generally figured from your basis, and the cost of improvements can be part of that basis. IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home, describes improvements as work that prolongs the home's useful life or adapts it to new uses, and lists painting, fixing leaks, filling holes or cracks and replacing broken hardware as repairs, not improvements. It says that any time you buy real estate, you should keep records to document the property's adjusted basis, and that in general you keep those records until 3 years after the due date for your tax return for the year you sold the home.

That means a receipt for a roof you put on in your second year may matter decades later. Whether a given project counts, and how it affects your taxes, depends on your situation: talk to a tax professional. The simple habit is to keep every receipt for work on the house and let them sort it out.

A home inventory for insurance

A home inventory is a list of what you own, room by room, with photos. The NAIC, the group of state insurance regulators, says an accurate home inventory gives your insurance company the information it needs to help settle your claims. The easiest way to start is a slow video or a set of photos of each room, opening closets and drawers, plus close-ups of the labels on electronics and appliances. Add receipts for anything expensive. Our page on home inventory goes further.

Paper, digital, or both

A paper binder with tabbed sections is easy to hand to a buyer or a house sitter. Digital copies are easy to search and survive a basement flood. Most people do best with both: originals of the closing papers, deed and title policy in a binder or file box, and a scan or photo of everything.

Keep a copy somewhere other than the house. A fire or flood that destroys your belongings can take the records that prove what they were. Ready.gov suggests keeping important documents in a safe-deposit box, on an external drive or in the cloud so you can reach them in a disaster. A fire-resistant box at home helps, but it is not the same as a copy off-site.

A simple set of tabs

1. Purchase: contract, closing statement, deed, title policy, survey.
2. Inspection report and your list of findings.
3. Appliances and systems: one page each with model, serial, install date, manual and warranty.
4. Improvements: receipts, permits, contracts, in date order.
5. Repairs and service, in date order.
6. Insurance: current policy and your home inventory.

Questions people ask